COOKIES: Buried Cherry Cookies

Buried Cherry Cookies

Cookies:

1/2 cup butter

1 cup sugar

1 egg

1 1/2 tea vanilla

1 1/2 cup flour

1/3 cup coco

1/4 tea baking powder

1/4 tea soda

1/4 tea salt

1/2 cup sugar

1 jar 10 oz maraschino cherries

Frosting:

2/3 cup sweetened condensed milk

1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

1. Make frosting first by combining into glass bowl and microwave until melting.

2. Set aside and let cool.

3. Heat oven to 350

4. Cream butter, sugar, eggs and vanilla until fluffy

5. Combine flour, coco, powder, soda and salt

6. Gradually add dry mixture to wet

7. Shape dough into balls about the size of your palm

8. Press cherry into dough until its in the center.

9. Roll ball into 1/2 cup of sugar and place on parchment paper.

10. Bake 10 min or until edges are crispy.

11. Let cool and remove from cookie sheet.

12. Frost cookies and let set until dry.

MAIN: Creamy Herbed Chicken

Creamy Herbed Chicken

1 bag of bow-tie pasta

1 tab oil

2 boneless chicken breasts cut into strips

1 small red onion, sliced

1 10 oz pkg frozen peas, thawed

1 yellow and/or red pepper cut into strips

1/2 cup chicken broth

1 container of garlic herb cream cheese

Salt and pepper to taste

1. Cook pasta and drain

2. Heat oil in skillet and add chicken and onion. Cook chicken until white

3. Add peas and peppers

4. Stir fry until soft

5. Stir in cream cheese and broth.

6. Simmer on low heat until melted

7. Salt and pepper to taste.

MAIN: Simple Chicken Cacciatore

Simple Chicken Cacciatore

4 boneless chicken breast cut into chunks

salt and pepper

flour

paprika

4 tab olive oil

2 cloves garlic

1 26 oz jar spaghetti sause

1 green pepper

1 red pepper

spaghetti - cook according to package

provolone cheese

1. Salt and pepper chicken and coat with flour and paprika

2. Heat oil in skillet and cook chicken with garlic

3. Drain excess oil

4. Stir in red sauce and let simmer for 20 mins

5. Add peppers last 5 min.

6. Add to pasta

7. Top with cheese

SALAD: Emeril's Blue Cheese Waldorf Salad

Emeril's Blue Cheese Waldorf Salad

1/4 cup mayo

1 tab apple cider vinegar

1/3-1/2 cup buttermilk

1/2 cup crumbled blue cheese

1/4 cup grated yellow onion

1/4 tea salt

1/8 fresh ground pepper

pinch cayenne

2 cups diced sweet red apple (Jonathan or gala)

2 cup celery sliced thinly

Red seedless grapes, sliced

1/2 cup walnuts broken up

1. In a bowl wish mayo and vinegar and slowly add buttermilk. Whisk until thick.

2. Add blue cheese, onion, salt, pepper, Cayenne and whisk together

3. In a large bowl combine apples, celery, grapes and walnuts.

4. Add dressing and toss

Serves 6

SIDES: Festive Cranberry Stuffing

Festive Cranberry Stuffing

1 can chicken broth

pepper

1 stalk celery coarsely chopped w. leaves

1/2 cup fresh or frozen cranberries

1 small onion chopped

4 cups herbed seasoned stuffing or bread

1. Mix broth, pepper, celery, cranberries and onions in sauce pan.

2. Heat to boil, cover and cook until veggies are soft (about 5 min)

3. Add bread/stuffing and mix lightly

4. Pour into baking dish and bake at 350 for 25 min

Babushka Delight #2.5: Turkey Day Magic

Ingredients:

1 Butterball Turkey Breast (in brine) 3 to 4 lbs, thawed.

1 loaf roasted garlic (garlic baked in) artesian bread

1 loaf rosemary olive oil artesian bread

1 large yellow onion

1/2 red bell pepper

1 small sweet onion

6 Tbs minced garlic

1 honeycrisp apple

6 stalks celery

2 cans chicken broth

1 cup 2% milk

1/2 cup whipping cream

3/4 stick butter

3/4 cup flour

Spices:

Simon and Garfunkel Spice Mix (parsley, rubbed sage, rosemary, thyme)

smoked paprika

chile powder

garlic powder

onion powder

sweet basil

sea salt

fresh ground pepper medley

Instructions:

the night before, slice olive oil rosemary and baked garlic bread into thin slices and place on cooling racks to dry out.

The next morning at about 10:30 or noon...whenever you get up...turn the oven on to 325 degrees and then cut onions in half and slice them. Chop the red pepper, celery and apple. Place the onions, apple, red pepper and 4 of the 6 Tbs of garlic in the bottom of your roasting pan. Place the Butterball Turkey Breast on top of the chopped vegetables. Dust the top of the turkey breast with the smoked paprika, chile powder, garlic powder, onion powder, etc...then place the sliced sweet onion and the other 2 Tbs of garlic on top of the turkey breast. Pour one can of chicken broth around the turkey breast (but don't pour it on the turkey breast or you will undo all of the spices that you placed on the turkey breast just now). If the oven is at temperature, place the lid on the pan holding the turkey and place it in the oven. If it isn't at temp, you can place the lid on or not as you choose...but you will want the lid on when you place it in the oven.

During the meantime, cut up the dried bread into cubes and place in a bowl.

Check the temperature after a couple of hours. When the temperature is at 170 degrees, remove the turkey from the oven. Remove the turkey breast and place on a plate. Pour the liquid and vegetables through a strainer. Save the liquid. Place the turkey back in the cook pan and place on the burner that vents the oven to keep the turkey moist and warm.

Place the vegetables in the blender. Add several Tbs of liquid back in and blend them together. Then add 1/2 stick of butter to the mix and blend together one more time. Pour the mixture into the bowl of dried bread. Mix it together in the bowl. Taste a bit of it. If it needs it, feel free to add some of the spices listed above to taste.

Put the stuffing in the oven at 350 degrees covered for 20 minutes. Uncover and place back in until the top browns up and gets all crispy yum.

Turn the liquid into a gravy using the flour and the remaining butter to make a roux and then add the liquid and the other can of chicken stock to the pan. Add the milk and cream and bring to a boil. Then remove from the heat. Make sure that you whisk consistently all through this process...it will thicken and be yummy. Season to taste.

If done correctly it should look something like this:

Serve and enjoy!

Babushka Delight # 112

Ingredients:

1 large Smoked Sausage or Kielbasa

2 boxes Uncle Ben's Original Recipe Long Grain Wild Rice

1 med onion

4 Tbs Garlic

6 small sweet peppers (red, orange and yellow)

2 cups frozen broccoli (could be fresh but will need to be added earlier in the recipe)

2 cups frozen corn (could be canned corn but adjust water added to compensate for liquid from corn)

3 medium carrots

2 sticks celery

2 Tbs Olive Oil or 1/3 stick butter (whichever you like more)

3 Tbs soy sauce

4 1/2 Cups of Water

Spices:

1 tsp Cardamom

2 tsp Basil

Garlic Powder

Onion Powder

Celery Seed

Chile Powder

Lawry's Season Salt

Original recipe Seasoning Packet from Uncle Ben's

Instructions:

Perform a medium chop on onions and celery. Quarter and chop carrots. Fine chop all peppers. Place carrots, onions, celery and peppers into a bowl and add the soy sauce. Stir around and let sit so that the soy sauce has covered all vegetables.

Place a large pan on the burner at medium heat and put oil or butter in pan to heat. Upon reaching temp, add vegetables.

While stirring vegetables, cut the smoked sausage or kielbasa on the bias and place in a bowl and set aside. Remember to stir the vegetables that are sauteeing in the pan.

Once the vegetables are translucent, add the sausage and cook until the sausage and vegetables start to brown. Add the rice to the pan and stir around to brown slightly. Be really careful here folks, because the rice will absorb the oil quickly and will want to scorch if you don't stir quickly. Once the rice has browned for a bit, add the water followed by the spice packets from dear sweet Uncle Ben. Stir until spice mix is constituted, turn up heat to hi and stir until pan comes to a boil. Then reduce heat to simmer and cover.

Let sit until rice reconstitutes and most liquid is gone. Add frozen broccoli and corn.

Add garlic, powder, onion powder, season salt and chile powder to taste. Add 2 tsp of basil. Tap a little it of the celery seed. Stir and let sit.

Now add cardamom...this is both for color and for a certain special "somesing" that it adds...

Stir until all liquid is gone and remove from heat. Let cool for a few moments.

Serve and Enjoy!